Patty Parks-Wasserman, a permaculture diplomat has designed permaculture programs for schools and taught permaculture and nature skills to children and youth for 14 years in public, private, homeschooling and non-formal educational environments for toddler through university levels. She joins with The Mother Earth School of Portland, Oregon in delivering annual K12 educator trainings for incorporation of permaculture into classroom curriculum, and teaches Permaculture Design at the University of New Mexico. Her current projects include the “Anytown Food Forest Project” and the development of a multidisciplinary food forest curriculum for secondary and higher level education that provides students an opportunity to engage in development of local community self reliance. She was born in Santa Fe, and grew up working in her parent’s greenhouse and nursery business from the age of six, and has lived in NM all but a few months of her life.